Teacher Pay Cuts

Rodney Ellis is president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, the state’s largest teacher advocacy group. In the pay 14 years, North Carolina teachers received a pay cut averaging from $53,000 that dropped even further down to $45,947. Ellis said, “Morale is at the bottom of the barrel right now throughout this state. Teachers are really questioning why they want to teach. They have to take care of their families, and it’s difficult to do that when their salaries are as low as they are.” Since North Carolina is a right-to-work state, educators are not allowed to protest against this, but instead are marching on the state Capitol and staging a walk-in before school” (Pay Cuts).